KRS-One was in a very talkative, insightful mood during this excellent interview that spans his history in Hip-Hop. Starting with the spiritual meaning behind his moniker, KRS goes into detail on some very previous unknown occurences behind the Self-Destruction and H.E.A.L. movements. Also, KRS reflects on why he felt battling (Poor Righteous Teachers, X-Clan, PM Dawn etc.) led to the end of his commercial/mainstream career in 1992. Over 90 minutes is a lot, but this piece is well worth your time.
The Teacher is back with another lesson. KRS speaks on bringing Hip-Hop beyond a music product to a literal city. Yes, you heard right – an actual utopia with Hip-Hop culture as the basis. While that is a big stretch, the idea of economic and social unity in Hip-Hop is something that needs to be emphasized. It’s interesting to note that over 20 years ago, KRS emphasized being #1 on the classic “I’m Still #1.” Now, the focus is on bringing the community into a unified whole. If rappers want to be seen as legit artists and not caricatures of themselves into their 40 and 50s, this is the type of content change/growth that should be expected.
DJ Premier has offered his new compilation project for streaming via his own personal blog. If you like what you hear, make sure to vote with your dollars and purchase the album via the iTunes link listed below. The album features appearances from Blaq Poet, YGz, Nick Javas, Khaleel, Joell Ortiz, KRS-One, Grand Puba, and MC Eiht.
For any group to name themselves are Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, the music has to be as heavy and revolutionary as the two legendary leaders. DJ Revolution, Styliztik Jones, and KB Imean are seeking to do just that with their mixtape called Malcolm and Martin were…Criminal Minded.
DJ Revolution founded this group with the objective of inspiring future community leaders. This mixtape, which serves as a lead for their 2011 debut LP, is an ambitious remake of BDP’s classic 1987 album Criminal Minded. The core of the beats remain intact, but with new lyrics from the emcees, and cuts and scratches from DJ Revolution.
The entire project can be previewed at the link below. The first single, “Pigs Is Over,” substitutes the police as the diss targets over the Juice Crew.
Their album Life Doesn’t Frighten Me will hit stores on February 1, 2011 via SoulSpazm Records.
What better way is there to kick off your album that dropping an all-star complilation? DJ Premier is doing just that for his Year Round Records label by dropping Get Used to Us on December 7.
Premier is not the first, nor will he be the last big name to attempt this. What makes him any different? Check out the the video preview and see if Premier has a legitimate shot of creating a great company. Get Used to Us will feature appearances from Premier’s own signed artists (NYG’z, Nick Javas, Khaleel), and spots from Freddie Foxxx, Styles P, Royce da 5’9, Saigon, Joell Ortiz, Lady of Rage, MC Eiht, Grand Puba, KRS-One, Papoose, Blaq Poet, and more.
Common’s ascent into pop culture through movies and endorsements has not the stilted his attention to social issues still affecting Hip-Hop culture.
Speaking to the Huffington Post, Common characterized in forthcoming ninth studio album as inspirational, but with an edge in the spirit of emcees like Nas, KRS-One and Kanye West.
“If true belief is there, man, the world is yours,” Common said. “The album itself is really going to be a hip-hop uplifting album–culturally relevant, inspirational, hardcore hip-hop. In the spirit of KRS-One, Rakim, Nas, Kanye–cats that bring what really means something to people’s lives.”
Throughout the past 20 years, Common’s native Chicago has hit the national radar because of its high murder rate involving young African-Americans. Last September, a black honor student was beaten to death on video during an after-school brawl.
In the 90s, many innocent children were shot as bystanders during conflicts between rival gangs. Others were killed after being recruited into gang warfare. The most famous case involved 11 year old Robert “Yummy” Sandifer, whose criminal rap sheet included arson, armed robbery and drug possession.
On August 27, 1994, he shot and paralyzed a 15 year old Kianta Britten, and later that same day accidentally killed 14 year old Shavon Dean while shooting at rival gang members.
Less than a week later, members from his own Black Disciples gang executed him.
From Common’s experience working with these youths, their descent into gangs and crime comes from disenfranchisement. He believes if exposed to creative, stimulating outlets and endeavors, many will choose more positive paths.
“From my experiences in talking to them, they just want things to do–whether it’s jobs or whether it’s, like, activities. With Common Ground, we just started this program in Chicago with young people,” he explained. “But there’s more to do, too. It starts with the way we’re going to treat our young people–our children. Some children don’t have parents around, so we have to reach out and say something to them that’s going to be inspiring. Something that can be said that can spark their lives…”
Another hot-button topic in Common’s life is criticism of the misogyny in Hip-Hop music. While the majority of his music does not degrade women, as a rapper he’s felt the need to defend and explain the culture to others. Several years ago, Common was a panelist of Oprah Winfrey’s show. He was put in the awkward position of having to defend Gangsta Rap to Oprah Winfrey and Spelman graduates despite being an emcee that did not do that style of Hip-Hop.
Today, Common points out the issue is not a specific to Hip-Hop culture, but a flaw that every society has to combat against. In Hip-Hop’s defense, he points to specific artists fans have as alternatives.
“I can’t fault our generation, or Hip-Hop, for being the culprit of that. It’s not only a black thing; if you look at it, you see it in a lot of cultures, Common argued. “But that’s something we have to work on. And I make it a point to say that, in hip-hop, you don’t have only that. You do have artists like Dead Prez, Mos Def, Talib Kweli; people that respect women in their raps. So, it does exist.
Fans will soon be able to catch Common on the small screen when he stars as a conflicted, bi-racial freed slave on AMC’s new series Hell on Wheels. Shooting for the project began this month.
At press time, his new album The Believer does not have a release date.
Rhymefest (Che Smith) is on a mission of liberation. Not just liberation of himself, but Hip-Hop as a whole. It’s been 4 years since the positive accolades he received for Blue Collar, but since then Rhymefest has had to contend with numerous album delays and struggling to keep his name afloat. To that end, he’s released 2 creative mixtapes in the Michael Jackson dedication Man in the Mirror and The Manual. Now, he’s ready to deliver his most ambitious project to date on June 8 with El Che, inspired byArgentinean revolutionary and his namesake Che Guevara.
But are Hip-Hop fans ready for his vision? Will they accept a more serious Rhymefest challenging them on social and political issues?
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Congratulations on finally getting the album done. There was an initial release date in May, so was the pushback more to do with you adding material or with the label?
Rhymefest: No, it was distribution. We’re getting the album distributed through EMI. EMI is going through a bit of a shakeup themselves, [I’m saying that] without trying to throw salt on anybody. But no matter what’s going on with the business, the fans will say its Rhymefest’s fault. So what I need to do is take a picture with a copy of the album and let people know it does exist.
Personally, if they preorder and it doesn’t come out June 8, I’m willing to go anywhere in the country and do whatever they want. Whether it’s cleaning their crib, going to work with them, going to club, and rapping for them! I’m willing to do whatever I got to do but I know it’s coming out June 8. It’s [just] a distribution issue from when they receive the CD’s to getting it out in the stores.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Before we get to the tracks, there’s a lot of imagery on the album cover alone. Let’s start with Frederick Douglass’ second autobiography you picked, My Bondage and My Freedom. A lot of people are familiar with the first one, A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. What made you go with the selection you chose over his other writings?
Rhymefest: Well, what was important to me is it described the younger Frederick Douglass. It gets personal with his life story. Really what I’m doing through music is suggestive reading. Like, do you know how Frederick Douglass taught himself to read? That there were some white people that helped him? How much he helped Lincoln in constructing the case for the Civil War?
These things are very important to know. Before Barack Obama, before Martin Luther King, there was Frederick Douglass. That dude is pretty ill. So ill that I named my son Frederick Douglass’ father’s name, which was Bilal. My son’s middle name is after that.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: The other book up there is Invisible Man, which is very profound coming from an artist. We know in the book the protagonist felt invisible because no one saw the true him, just stereotypes. As a rapper, how do you use that to your advantage, since Hip-Hop culture is overrun with stereotypes and caricatures?
Rhymefest: Hundreds of people hit me up all the time and say, “I wish more people knew about you. You’re the most underrated rapper.” I get that all the time. If these people say this, but they know about me, if all y’all just went out and brought the album, who cares? I feel like me and my fans are part of a secret Hip-Hop society that the larger society may not understand. But we are making moves.
If I sell 15,000 records I won. I paid for this shit myself! If I get that $150 grand, I can use that and put out another album in 6 months. The hardest part was getting over the hump of getting it out, because of the whole shakeup with J Records. I just recently got off of J Records and Allido Records. And really this album is coming 7-8 months after I left the record label. So that I means all I had to do these past few years was just get off the fucking label! But I had been too much of a slave to understand that.
Now I feel like Frederick Douglass. When he became liberated, he was able to break free and become the orator we know now. J Records helped me to become known as Rhymefest, but after that they held me as a slave. Now I’m able to break free and be who I am. When I made the Man in the Mirror and The Manual mixtapes that was because the label wasn’t putting out singles and albums.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: How much did fear hold you back from initially taking that step? A lot of artists feel that can’t do it out their own, and that their creative side will be hampered if they try to handle too much business.
Rhymefest: Hmmm fear…no. Kanye taught me that the only limitations we have is ourselves. If you are successful or a failure, it’s dependent on you [and] no one else. What held me so long to the label was that they were giving me a stipend even though I wasn’t coming out with any records. They put me up in New York in the financial district, had me living in corporate housing. I didn’t realize that time was passing me by. I’m doing all this stuff, mixtapes, but not making any albums or selling any records.
There were people at the label getting kickbacks. I saw how the money thing works. Like we’re going to do a $450,000 video, but you can only use these 3 directors. But it’ll be directors they already got. So when they go into Clive Davis, they can be like look, we spent this much money, but it still didn’t do what we thought it would do. But they really didn’t spend that much money. They really got a kickback. But the artist sometimes doesn’t realize that.
I’m not blaming anyone. For the period I was there, J Records treated me very fairly. But I don’t think they knew what to do with me. They weren’t used to operating from the grass roots, which is the type of artist I am. They were used to paying their way through things. That doesn’t work with me because I’m the type of artist to say something. I don’t do politics very well, I do truth and justice. But I’m learning it better through being independent.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Last year you stated there was a general lack of respect in Hip-hop for tradition. Have you seen any improvement since then amongst your fellow artists and fans?
Rhymefest: I was wrong. One thing I didn’t realize is that Hip-Hop doesn’t exist anymore. C’mon, think about the 4 elements: graffiti, breaking, deejaying, and emceeing. Emcees don’t exist. That’s somebody who gets on the stage, doesn’t have to rap, but can hype up the crowd while the DJ is playing. He has all the chants, all that shit. Everybody now is “listen to me, listen to my raps.” No one can hype up a crowd no more like that. Emcees are dead.
Let’s look at graffiti. Ain’t nobody really tagging no more [laughs]. Like “look at this mural I made, and we’re competing over this shit.” People do it, but it’s not what it was. It used to be a phenomenon.
Let’s look at breaking. They have b-boy events, but it’s a very small circle. It’s not like Drake comes out, and people are breaking. Not saying it’s a bad thing, it just doesn’t happen no more.
Deejaying is all a political game now. DJs and rappers are against each other. Rappers don’t value a DJ on stage no more. It used to be Eric B and Rakim, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. There are no more DJs who precede the rapper’s name.
So Hip-Hop as we knew is like jazz at this point. I can’t really get mad. It exists on a scale so small you might as well call it dead. But even from Disco we got techno, Bass music. From Hip-Hop we got Soulja Boy, Drake; the hybrid singing rap. We got to call it something else because it ain’t Hip-Hop. It’s not bad; it’s evolved into something else.
When this is read people will have opinions, and some are not sophisticated enough to have this conversation and think about it on a plane that’s not black or white. “Oh you’re dissing it!” No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying Hip-Hop has evolved to a whole ‘nother culture. It’s very interesting that it’s mixed corporatism with music, cheap and easy. But the beats have gotten better, and there needs to be melody, not just lyrics. A lot of rappers used to not have that. More rhythm, you really have to be a dope singer and rapper these days.
Now I can’t do that, it’s not what I do. Now I could be mad like “these niggas is singing rapping!” But I think we have to call it something else, another genre like Hip-Pop. It’s important as we cross different thresholds in history that we mark and define them. Right now it’s time to define what we do as something else, not just Hip-Hop.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: This reminds me of what changes we heard in the 80s to popular music like New Wave and how synthetic sounds dominated. Do you hear that as well in music today?
Rhymefest: Yes! But I also hear a bit of 90s R&B. If you listen to Drake, you can hear it. I hear a little bit of Jodeci in his stuff being brought back. I also hear 90’s rap patterns on some of these tracks. I would update my respect comment for Hip-Hop and say we need music appreciation, respect for music.
If you’re going to rap, and you hear people say “man, you sound like A Tribe Called Quest.” Go back and listen to those albums. People used to say I sounded like Biz. So I got real familiar with Biz Markie. How can I update my style? Look at some of his patterns and update and make it hot!
Music is really for trained ears. When you listen to jazz, you can’t just sit there with no one explaining it to you, how the horn and piano talks. Hip-Hop is the same way! How you gonna just sit down and listen to KRS-One’s By All Means Necessary if no one puts it in context for you? Same with Criminal Minded; how can you appreciate it? You can still listen to it.
You can’t even appreciate Pac right row! Let’s move up for the readers who don’t know about KRS and don’t care. You can’t understand Tupac unless you have Tupac in context. You can listen to a few songs and say that’s dope, but you need the story that goes with it. When you listen “White Man’s World” or “Trapped,” you have to understand where he was in his career. Then you listen to it and it means another level to you.
Good music is truly like the Bible.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Being a true, original artist has always been in conflict with monetary gain, because normally what makes you the most money is the antithesis of true art. For yourself, do you continue to feel pressure with that? Because the acclaim can still come, but it’s normally years after the fact. You referenced jazz, and the Bebop movement comes to mind.
Rhymefest: You gotta realize this; who gave Dr. King the biggest obstacles to his goal for civil rights for all, Black or white people?
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: His own people.
Rhymefest: Who give Malcolm X the biggest obstacle? And we know that because of who they say killed him, his own people! When Clive Davis signed me I told him” I don’t know why you signed me, you made a mistake.” He said why, and I said because I can read [laughs].
He laughed and patted my on the shoulder, like “nigga you don’t understand I run the world! You’ll never get anywhere!” I know I will not be understood and heard until I’m out of here. I already prepared for that, bro. It doesn’t matter if I sell 3 million or 3000. Number one, I don’t rap for money, I have other ventures I do.
Number two, I’m really trying to do something. I’m with kids, walking them home with Safe Passage programs and all that. I can walk through my neighborhood. I see shorties fighting and I go out and say “I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but this is a little girl. That ain’t the way; we have to move like this…” I’m not scared of my people, but I realize these are the ones that are going to kill me. These are the ones that will talk about me like a dog while I’m here.
It’s all good. True love is unconditional. True heroism is to stand in the face of your obstacle and say “I love you even if you kill me.” You can’t have a true revolution without love.
Me and Rick Ross had a real deep discussion about this. I gained a lot of respect for Ross after we sat and talked. He asked me whether I wanted to be feared or loved. I said was Al Capone feared or loved? He said feared. I said was Dr. King feared or loved? He said loved. Ross said he rather be feared. I said man, Al Capone died by himself of syphilis, isolated. Dr. King loved so hard he was feared, and they had to assassinate him.
At the end of the day, true love makes motherfuckers scared. It inspires true fear, not the fear where motherfuckers laugh at you and lock you up. Every true revolution starts with love, whether it’s love of your block, love of your kids, or love of these people. You have to start with love. If you start with fear you just look crazy.
When motherfuckers stop fearing Mike Tyson, everybody started knocking him out. When everybody stopped being afraid of Suge Knight, everybody started talking shit. But Muhammad Ali loved so hard, that he scared the world! I love my people so much that I ain’t got time. They don’t love me though, but it’s all good.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: I wanted to ask you about the “Prosperity” track on the album, where you speak on the Black Church. It reminded me of what W.E.B. DuBois said in The Souls of Black Folk about the church being a cornerstone of black culture, a “safe place” so to speak in the early 20th century. These days it appears to be the exact opposite. What are your feelings on religion and the church in particular in today’s society?
Rhymefest: Yo man you’re very intelligent, very informed and you’re asking things if I’m not knowledgeable, I’ll make myself look like an asshole. I really admire you. You’re something I haven’t seen in awhile G; you’re a real fucking journalist! What the f**k?!
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: [Laughs] Thank you. That’s why any of us should be in this, to improve the culture.
Rhymefest: And that’s one of the reasons Hip-Hop is suffering. We’ll blame the artists, labels, but no one blames journalists, DJs. If someone really asked one of these ignorant ass rappers if they really feel they’re hurting the youth and didn’t let them deflect to another question, maybe artists would hold themselves to higher standards. Because artists do leave interviews sometimes like “what the fuck, what do we have to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?”
You’re holding me to a standard that I hope you wouldn’t just do with me because you know I can answer it. I hope you hold every artist to it. Because we as fans need to know what we’re getting and who we’re getting it from. Just wanted to say thank you man.
[Now] back to your question about “Prosperity.” I’m always going to do something about the church and God. My music always has a celestial spirit. I was trying to separate the business of church from what church is supposed to be doing for us. If you look in the Bible, Jesus walks in the the church and says “how dare you use my father’s house as a market?,” and starts knocking stuff over. That was some strong stuff to do back in the day, revolutionary! People don’t look at Jesus that way or violent, but I don’t think Jesus had a problem with violence. How can Jesus have a problem with violence knowing how radical his Father was? You think Jesus wouldn’t kill for God? God was just like they need to hear this. But Jesus knew love was the best way, but he still shook them up and scared them.
With “Prosperity” I was sitting at home watching BET and that guy Kerney Thomas, the one that screams “Gooooooooooooooood, will change your life!” What the fuck is this?! In Chicago they’ll have Sunday morning service. Then they’ll say go home and come back to church for an evening meal with a night service. For those who missed, you can come on Monday or Wednesday with 3 services; this shit is a business! It’s a God damn business!
Some places you have to fill out slips to join, where they’ll take your tax and wage information and automatically deduct your tithes to be a member. Or if you don’t have money, you can donate your time. But then they have you working the shit like a full time job! “You didn’t show up today, sister.” What the fuck?! Is this God?
I’ve studied different religions. If you look at the mosque, they’re like “come in, the bucket’s right here, you know what you’re supposed to do.” Nothing is passed around and people take care of their responsibilities. It’s between them and God and no one makes you feel bad and tries to sell you Heaven. So on “Prosperity” I felt I had to deal with that issue.
And that’s not to say Islam is better than Christianity as a religion. I’m talking about how religion deals with the business of tithing. Even in Jewish synagogues, they’re not making it a damn business. I don’t think that corporations should be in the churches. I don’t think there should be Coca Cola banners in church, TD Jakes. I say names.
Government should not be involved in church. I don’t believe in faith-based programs. The government can always say “whoever is bringing Dr. King to town, we shutting you’re church down.” And back in the day black ministers did that. That’s what happened when government gets involved in religion. And then you start to have extreme governments as well when the church influences, and then you have a problem because everybody ain’t Christian or Muslim.
I’m not for mega or corner store churches. There should be one or two community churches. [But] these damn mega churches? C’mon man that’s not Godly. That’s a scam! Those dudes and some of them mosques are doing the same thing the dudes on the street are doing, but they think they’re better because they’re doing it within the house of God which is truly more blasphemous. At least a street motherfucker is ignorant and that is an excuse.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: If Jesus were to come back now, it’s likely he’d tear down many things in these churches.
Rhymefest: If you think I’m wrong, all you have to do is ask yourself this one question. If Jesus came back, which church would he join?
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Profound, indeed. Let’s talk about 2 album tracks in “Say Whassup” and “Chocolate,” where you’re basically celebrating the beauty of women and black women in particular. Why is that so difficult for Hip-hop artists to do, even though the majority of us have been raised by women?
Rhymefest: Interesting that you bring that up because on “Truth OnYou” I’m saying something totally opposite. On my singles I give the commercial on how we’re going to act. I know sometimes we feel different and you hear that on the album, but the singles are what we want to put out there about ourselves because that’s important. “Say Whassup” I got Phonte on it, and it says we don’t have to have sex right now. Let’s just have a conversation and build something really sexy, have something build up between us.
I realized this from going through a lot of different relationships and having drama from one night stands and going after someone simply from sexual attraction, and having children that are unexpected and dealing with this person for the rest of your fucking life! [laughs] Sometimes I just want to chill out with a chick. Man, can I just get a chick with good conversation? I’ve had big asses; I’ve had long hair and pretty eyes.
The price and value of pussy has really plummeted. But the price of a good woman has skyrocketed because it’s rare! Good pussy is everywhere, like a diamond in Africa. Now the value of a good woman is like digging for oil. So when you hear “Chocolate” and “Say Whassup,” that’s me looking for a good woman. I’m out here looking for conversation, someone well-read.
I know this girl, and I told her the problem was she never had a God damn book in her hand. What’s the last book you read? Motherfuckers don’t read anymore. You got iPads; you don’t even have to flip the pages if you don’t want to. Your mind is like your body, if you don’t exercise it, it gets weak. It’s the same thing with your spirit. People are just lazy; what the hell are you living for if you can’t do the simple shit?
You already won the biggest battle. Out of millions of sperm one got to the egg and became who you are. You fought a million motherfuckers and won. So you get here and you don’t want to be shit? You’re a waste of everything!
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Your name is Che, but the album title of El Che and the content has a lot of allusions to the Argentinean revolutionary Che Guevara. Once you get outside of Hip-Hop he’s pretty controversial due to his Marxist beliefs and some of his revolutionary activities. What made you comfortable using him?
Rhymefest: Those people [who don’t like Che] were taught wrong. The exiled Cubans who talk about Che murdered this person, what about the people George Bush murdered? I don’t see you moving out of America or calling him evil!
Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, may God bless them both! They had an illiterate country [in Cuba]. They made the country literate; they educated the people. The greatest doctors in the world come from Cuba, [they have] a strong military. Guess what happens when you try to get a government right. The people that they killed were trying to kill them and take over. Let’s talk about the Bay of Pigs, you know about that? You know they were trying to assassinate the man through cigars, hairs, the CIA, Mafia, and the United Fruit Company? What do you know about that? What about the fact the white Cubans were some of the most racist people in the hemisphere, and Che Guevara said no, you have to open these universities to the brown and black people. If you don’t open them, then we’ll knock the doors down.
What about Malcolm X and Che Guevara having conversations about sending black men from America to Cuba to be trained for urban combat and guerilla warfare? When Castro came to America and the white hotels wouldn’t give him a room, he went to the Hotel Theresa in Harlem and the black people opened their doors to him. There is a history the white Cubans in Miami don’t talk about.
After Hurricane Katrina, Castro offered to send 500 doctors to America. What were the people criticizing Castro doing? People say Che was racist? He went to Africa to try and train the people in the Congo to get the French out of there. People don’t want to debate me on that. That was revolutionary love.
You want to do something, address this white racism that goes on in the Cuban community against black people in America and Afro-Cubans. If Elian Gonzalez was a black Cuban would it have been the same outrage? Cubans and Haitians in Miami should be working together. But everybody wants to be separate. This idea of supremacy because of color or a caste system is wrong.
So when I say El Che, I take everything that goes with that.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: You expect the US Cuba embargo to be lifted soon, maybe even this presidency?
Rhymefest: Yes, it’s already being worked on. As much as people talk about Cuba, they want to get over there and see their relatives, too. We will see it in our lifetimes. But we just can’t open up the doors and have the Mafia run back in and take over like they are in Florida. Cuba has to stay for the Cuban people, and not become a playground for decadence again.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: You raise an interesting point about the Mafia being involved, as people like Meyer Lansky had infiltrated the government and monopolized the country before the Cuban Revolution eliminated them. But even today we have artists adopting personas and names of Mafia members who despised people of color and help ravage their communities with narcotics. Why do Hip-Hop artists overlook these facts?
Rhymefest: Well Guevara wasn’t about corporatism and how much money I can get and floss. Guevara attracted woman and people to him because he was a warrior. Nobody wants to be that anymore, we want fast money and the life. All these ideas we rapped about are ideas that were planted in us.
It’s not cool to do a song about the effects of domestic violence. That’s what made Michael Jackson so dope. He could do a song like “Smooth Criminal” and make that shit party and make it dope with a message in it. He could do a song like “Billie Jean” with a message in it about a one night stand, or a “Human Nature” and make that shit a pop song. Nobody can do that now without making it fallaciously sexy.
So you think rappers can do that? Shit, those rappers have been run off a long time ago or isolated: me, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique, and Dead Prez. They made people think we ain’t shit. They demagnetize us so fans will say “they ain’t shit, they ain’t hot, them niggas ain’t on BET or the radio!” We have to do for self. Instead of saying why don’t black people get Oscars, we have to say why the fuck do we want your Oscar? Let’s make the Source Awards better. Nominate them and have them lose to some shit we did. Have it lose to Why Did I Get Married 2 [laughs].
That’s why this independent thing is so important. It’s important to buy that Little Brother Leftback. I’m happy they sold before without promotion. It’s important to buy El Che because if people don’t buy it, I’m not making any more records for free. I’ve gave y’all music for free. If you don’t support it, it tells me you don’t want it.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: On the “Talk Yo’ Shit” track, you make reference to the decisions Wale made on his debut (“Even before Wale bricked/I tried to pull him to the side and say those white boys won’t sell your shit!”). Was that more so in reference to his label or the type of songs he chose to make?
Rhymefest: I think it goes hand and hand. They make you think you got to have a hit, this is all you got. So you start thinking about how to make a hit over a good song. Music listeners are very sophisticated and they can see through it. Wale has so much talent, and he has charisma. He’s a propagandist king. He knows how to get people to listen to him, how to garner a crowd, and get the right people in his corner. All he needs to do now is do something from the heart and show people he’s serious.
I can’t say I know everything he did [with the album]. But if you go out and try to fool people, they’ll step away quietly. You got to come from the heart. We can say whatever about Gucci Mane and Wocka Flocka, but they’re coming from the heart. No matter what you think about it [laughs]. So people feel it. I think smart people strategize themselves out of shit sometimes. Smart people are real quick to say f**k somebody [laughs]. I have a problem with that sometimes.
That’s what Malcolm X did. Elijah told him to be quiet about John Kennedy’s assassination and Malcolm X was like “fuck him!” That messed everything up [laughs].
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Your closing thoughts on El Che for those who may still be on the fence?
Rhymefest: June 8 is the decisive date for not only for Rhymefest, but for Che, [which is] who I am. I guarantee this will be out, and I hope everyone who supports real Hip-Hop will make a move to purchase and appreciate it. And thank you again for a wonderful interview.
This interview happened by accident. Funkmaster Flex was in Atlanta in Summer 2008 to help promote a new Scion vehicle. Primarily, he was answering questions about the car, and I could tell be his demeanor that he was as equally bored as I was. So when we switched gears to Hip-Hop (we both asked simultaneously “let’s do something Hip-Hop questions”), I ended having one of my best interviews to date.
Ironically, his comments about Method Man sparked off a brief feud which I’m not sure has been resolved. Even though Flex explicitly told me repeatedly I could print everything he said, he may have thought better of it later on, as he ignored my calls in regards to a part 2. Nonetheless, I thank Flex for his honesty in this piece. Enjoy, readers.
If you want to explore Hip-Hop history, ask a DJ. The chosen few with clout who man the ones and twos see the greats come and go, witness movements soar then crumble, and still provide a one a kind Hip-Hop soundtrack. In the case of Funkmaster Flex, sometimes a DJ can create trends and become great themselves.
Starting as an understudy of the legendary Chuck Chillout, Flex has gone on to redefine the power of the DJ over the last 20 years. And despite all of his success, the revered NY legend still holds a special place in his heart for the 90′s.
With his trademark zeal, Funk Flex breaks down why he ranks LL over Jay-Z, the hypocrisy of Nas critiques, Ross’ C.O. ghosts, and why a period like the 90′s will never be seen again.
Ismael AbduSalaam: As a DJ you lived through the many eras of Hip-Hop from the 80s until now, but you’ve always showed a strong affinity for Hip-Hop music from the 90′s. For example, you did a memorable five-hour set of 90′s Hip-Hop last year for Hot 97 on the Fourth of July. What about that decade appeals to you so much?
Funkmaster Flex: In 1991 [you had] Naughty By Nature, Cypress Hill, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Main Source, Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, Onyx, Redman, Wu Tang Clan…and I stop at Wu Tang for a reason. [They] made records because they wanted to stand out in front of their house and be hot with their boys.
The records just happened to go national. They didn’t know at the time the East Coast was the best coast. To be fair, whose those guys that did “93 ‘Til Infinity?”
Ismael: Souls of Mischief.
Flex: Them, Snoop, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, NWA, Tupac, Dogg Pound, D.O.C. made records like that. Only a handful of rappers can make a single with a marketing plan and everything in mind. Like Jay-Z and 50 Cent. I’m not going to say Lil Wayne because we all know he doesn’t have [a] marketing plan in mind, [but] makes great music though.
Everybody’s not on that level. And the successes of the 50′s and Jay-Z’s of the world put pressure of the Tribe Called Quest’s and De La Soul’s to try to be more national and commercial. So if you’re a group looking up to them and they’re trying to be national, as a rookie you’re going to try that as well.
KRS-One never loses himself in his music. He may lose himself for one album, but who doesn’t?
I know I keep saying 50 and Jay, but that’s when I feel that 90′s sh*t, but in a current state. [But] LL Cool J is the Muhammad Ali and the Jordan. Not to take anything away from Jay or even 50, but they had a blueprint. LL never had a blueprint, and still doesn’t. LL Cool J is very important to the music. He’s 25 years deep. I love gangsta rap, [but] LL’s longevity [is untouched].
I was at an all-star game and people like Sarah Jessica Parker, Celine Dion, and Derek Jeter were there. I saw LL walk in. A 60-year-old lady said to me “I don’t know if you know but that’s LL Cool J.”
The fact that she knew he was a rapper and associated nothing negative with him is big. I don’t think he aimed for it, but it’s happened. That’s not to slight to gangsta rappers, but we need more of that.
Ismael: LL had that period where everyone hated him before Mama Said Knock You Out shut a lot of that down. 50 is kinda in that same position now. Do you think he can make a similar comeback?
Flex: Remember as a barometer, we’re using a dude who sold a million in a week. 50 Cent’s [problem] is the G-Unit [brand] had been diluted. The recent project had Young Buck on it. But think, when you have a Game album, that’s a G-Unit album. Same with Young Buck. It’s the same brand.
I don’t think it’s over for them, they’re approaching gold. When you read the blogs you’d think he’s dead.
I’m gonna tell you the slept on rapper for 2008…
Ismael: Who?
Flex: David Banner. He has talent, is involved in issues, and has one of the top four albums of the year.
Going back, I like rappers like Soulja Boy and Lil Wayne. But I have a different respect for the Dr. Dre’s, LL Cool J’s, Puffy’s and 50 Cent’s because they made hot records while conducting business. Wayne may be that businessman, we’ll see.
Ismael: What’s your take on the Rick Ross situation that played out over the summer?
Flex: Let’s talk on that. I like Ross a lot. I don’t feel he’s ever talked erratically tough on his records. He’s not saying he’s out here shooting and killing. I know how hard it is to make a hit record. I don’t think it was tough street talk that sold his records.
Ismael: Much of the backlash from the fans seemed to come because they felt Ross was lying after the facts came out. Also, the original Freeway Ricky Ross condemned him as well.
Flex: There’s a part of my heart that feels for him. But why is it any different from the guy who says Jay-Z’s persona is him [Calvin Klein]? Same thing with 50 and the dude [original 50 Cent Kelvin Martin] that’s dead?
Ismael: Could it be the problem arose because there wasn’t a distinct separation between Ross’ persona and real life? When the lying came in about his past that’s when the big backlash started. He may have been clowned for a little bit if he had just admitted the truth initially. But adamantly playing the kingpin figure backed him into a corner.
Flex: That’s a good point, there is that space with Jay and 50. The lying seems to be giving people a bad rub across the board. If he was a C.O. in ’97, he still grinded on record and got himself a deal. He didn’t have a big backing, Khaled just believed in him.
Yes, I too wish if it is true that he would’ve broke it down for me to understand.
Ismael: Are you for or against the growing trend of dance music that is dominating Hip-Hop?
Flex: When people say enough of the dance records, as a DJ that means it’s the domain of people like Soulja Boy and Lil Jon. We don’t want any new artists coming into the mix with that.
Give it to me from SB, Jon, and Hurricane Chris. No more.
Ismael: What’s your take on Nas’ Untitled album?
Flex: My copy didn’t have a track-listing, but I liked those tracks more than the singles.
Ismael: People may recall at one point over the summer, Nas and Wayne had the 1 and 2 albums in the country. That was two drastically different albums from two MCs entrenched in different eras thriving in today’s market. Do you think that speaks well for the health of Hip-Hop?
Flex: Wow, you’re right and nobody even wrote about that. Nas doesn’t have to be Puff, doesn’t choose to. People are funny, I hear people say things about Nas that’s crazy. People get mad at Nas because if he wanted to be Puff, he could. But they get mad because he didn’t choose that lane. Who are we to judge?
I have no doubt in my mind that Nas could find talent, run a label, but he chooses not to. Are we going to continue to be mad about that? Me and 50 had that argument a couple of times. Nas doesn’t have to do that to be great.
Ismael: It appears with him there’s always someone who has a problem with his music post-Illmatic.
Flex: I never understood that myself. Nas gets critiqued too much for a rapper that doesn’t judge people! People really judge him. You know what, it’s because people know he won’t answer back. Not rappers, but the press.
[With that said] I don’t want gimmicks from Nas anymore. I didn’t like the Nigger promotion. I don’t know if it was the label. There was something gimmicky with the last album too, what was it?
Ismael: The Hip Hop is Dead theme.
Flex: Yeah! But people can’t use that to define him. It’s a small piece of what Nas is. People annoy me when they talk about him. What do you want? Do you want 4 million, 500k, street clothes, what do you want from him? He makes good records.
I don’t want to offend anyone, but Nas is the first real lyricist to sell a lot of records. Biggie would be the second. Snoop, maybe. Now let me know, has the last five years made us feel like Snoop isn’t as lyrical as we thought he was?
Nas is the first though. Who sold millions before him? And he was and is lyrical! LL too, but he didn’t have the competition for the first eight years of his career, so I looked at him more as a trailblazer.
Ismael: How about Kool Moe Dee and their feud?
Flex: I’m biased to L on that one. It’s like asking me about Fantastic Five and Cold Crush, I’m biased to Cold Crush. LL was Queens and Bronx, Moe Dee was Harlem. So me being from the Bronx, and there being a wedge with Harlem, there’s a territorial thing.
Moe Dee sold a couple of records. He might have went gold or platinum, but if you didn’t sell a lot sometimes you couldn’t compete against your last hit.
What’s Jay-Z’s first album?
Ismael: Reasonable Doubt.
Flex: That, Illmatic, and I’m going to tell you the most slept on the album from that era…the first Black Moon album! It’s in the same category as Illmatic, Reasonable Doubt, Straight Outta Compton, and Amerikkka’s Most Wanted. I felt a lot of those 90′s Too Short records, too.
Ismael: Even without the remixes Enta da Stage is still in that class.
Flex: You know they put that Tribe Called Quest boom-bap to sleep when they dropped. Buckshot had the crown for a summer.
You know who I was feeling? I can’t remember his name, he was on Jive. He never made it East but he was hard. Kinda like a Mystical, but real street…
Ismael: Spice-1?
Flex: Yeah! He never made it up this way. Do you remember the summer of ’95 when Raekwon and Biggie were neck and neck for the crown?
Ismael: Oh yeah, wasn’t that was before “Who Shot Ya” dropped?
Flex: That’s what separated them. I’ll tell you the talk before that dropped. “Yo Flex, don’t Biggie always be rhyming on R&B sh*t? Your man ain’t street he’s losing it. He can’t hit without the remixes. Why aren’t the remixes on the album?”
(Yells beginning of “Who Shot Ya”) As we proceed! That had niggas pumping their fists. I never seen a rapper respond to what niggas was whispering! That song was so gully and street, I didn’t even understand it.
“Incarcerated Scarfaces” was like that. The lines in it, the fact he shouted out Connecticut was real, as they’re harder than Brooklyn believe it or not. They’ll fight each other just to show New York dudes they ain’t soft.
I’ve lived every era of Hip-Hop. I went to the park to see Grandmaster Flash and Bambaataa. The separation back then was either you were in front of the rope or behind it. Back then either you were with the DJ or you weren’t.
Now we’re approaching 2010. But for some reason the 90′s were like free agency in major league baseball, anybody could pop. I’ve been dying to speak about a rapper that’s been overrated…
Ismael: Who’s that?
Flex: Method Man is the most overrated rapper I’ve experienced in my career.
Ismael: Hmmm Now are you using the Wu solo albums as the main criteria for that opinion?
Flex: Oh hell yeah. Let’s list them.
Ismael: Liquid Swords, Return to the 36 Chambers, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…
Flex: Stop there. Rae’s joint wasn’t the first Wu album, but Ghost and Rae were like Batman and Batman. There was no Robin! “Verbal Intercourse,” “Ice Cream,” “Glaciers of Ice,” damn. But Rae don’t like me no more.
Ismael: What happened?
Flex: Rae feels I didn’t support his career all the way through. I see him [and] we talk, and I feel like he wants to talk about it with me. Me and him were the tightest because we were on the same label and traveled a bit together.
It’s not that he didn’t have decent records but he didn’t have records on Cuban Linx’s level. Meth, too. We came up around the same time in the club circuit.
Sidebar though, I wanna put The Infamous up there as well. Granted, it’s not Illmatic level but I wanna place it somewhere…
Ismael: Where do you stand on Hell On Earth? Many feel that it’s more cohesive and is superior lyrically and production-wise.
Flex: True, it made more sense. But most of that is due to very good A&R work. No slight to the Mobb on that.
Ismael: Now we’ve went through other rapper’s catalogues, let’s put the discerning eye on your own work. Which albums do you feel are the strongest and the weakest?
Flex: People say The Tunnel and [60 Minutes of Funk] Volumes 1 and 2 are my best albums. Volume 3 is the worst. I’m realistic, I’m not just here bashing rappers, I gotta get grilled too (laughs).
Ismael: Those records had a gang of artists on there. How did you manage to get all of them together?
Flex: I never told anyone this before but a lot of my album freestyles like Fugees, Fat, Joe, Pun, Mobb Deep, Rae, and Redman happened with all of them in the same room. People were doing their freestyles while the other rappers were looking through the glass. Kinda fucking bananas.
That why Volume 1 and 2 are my best because rappers were going in under a different kind of pressure.
Remember the Fugees had the best freestyle but when I put them on I had them in the waiting room for a couple of hours. At the time all they had out was their first album Blunted on Reality. Wyclef bring that up to this day about how he was waiting and they still came in and crushed all the big hitters.
Ismael: Speaking of Wyclef, I’m sure you recall when he interjected himself in the LL Cool J-Canibus beef with the diss “What’s Clef Got to Do With It.” An underrated diss people rarely mention is when LL came back with “Rasta Impasta”….
Flex: Over the EPMD “It’s My Thing” instrumental! [That was] fucking crazy. I felt I was the only one playing that record. What happened was they squashed it, so L was like, “Yo you gotta stop [playing it].” But I was like, “Yo, this shit is hard.”
Canibus went hard in that [battle], too.
Ismael: To close, you were the first DJ to put together a team to develop and push new people to the forefront. Did you use anyone as a blueprint for that? I know the first official team was the Flip Squad.
Flex: Flip Squad was first and really Jessica Rosenblum handled that. I picked a few. But the Pitbulls was more mine handpicked. I saw some great solo careers from Flash, Chuck Chillout, Red Alert, Marley Marl and Kid Capri. Still, I felt great DJs weren’t coming as fast as great rappers. Deep down I wanted to extend myself to good DJs. Instead of looking at me as an enemy, I wanted to say, “I can help you.”
From there I got Big Kap, Cypha Soundz, and Mister Cee. Chuck Chillout extended his hand to me so I wanted to do that for others. I didn’t know until I got older how much he really helped me.
